The Lowdown
Great value light with lots of versatility for a good price. A remote control in the box or easier control from the unit would have made it even better, though.
Video Review
First Impressions / Setting up
It’s pretty compact, and lightweight to boot. It looks to all intents and purposes like a plastic tyre from a kid’s buggy, with a pair of U brackets bolted to the side of it.
The lighting “side” of the disc has nine circular LEDs around the outside, a ring of 24 SMD LEDs (the types you see on LED strips you can buy in hardware stores) inside that, and finally a single bigger COB light in the middle.
The rear has power in/out (for daisychaining), DMX in/out (for control via wired DMX, and also for daisychaining), a basic LED readout and menu, up, down and enter buttons, plus a microphone and mic sensitivity control, the last being for the sound-to-light function.
In Use
As with most such lights, adjusting them via the controls on the back is fiddly and not very intuitive; much better to use the company’s IRC6 remote control (not supplied) for basic functionality, or DMX to unlock the full potential. For most DJs, the remote control is a good and inexpensive middle ground. Nonetheless, it is possible to cycle through the modes from the back (as long as you have the instruction manual to hand).
It has static “wash” colour modes, automatic programs (that aren’t reliant on there being any music playing, and that can be adjusted from slow to fast speed), a set of sound activated programs, and a custom colour mixing mode, where by blending the light colours and the strobe you can create your own static colours.
It is possible to adjust the strobe speed too, and finally, turn the IR on and off, so if you have multiple fixtures, you don’t confuse them when operating them from the remote.
Conclusion
It’s a great little light, really bright, and versatile too. The ultraviolet option on the outer lights is cool, obviously having a built-in strobe means you don’t need to carry a separate one, and the ability to use the light for static washes as well as for full-on dancefloor effects including strobe and ultraviolet means that a purchase of, say, two of these and a simple stand or two would do for many a mobile DJ playing smaller gigs.
Overall, for the DJ just starting out looking for cost-effective lighting, the FXpar 9 is a good choice and should definitely be on your shortlist for consideration.
